Saturday, January 22, 2011
That's It! (Andy For Adults)
I love the 'eureka' moment of finally identifying a song you've heard in the past without ever knowing who or what it was.. In my single-digit years, back in the 60s, I heard this instrumental, usually led by a horn section, á la Herb Alpert. On Thursday JP finally identified it for me, by playing its very vocal original on YouTube. It's Andy Williams' 'Music To Watch Girls By'.
Williams, nearly forgotten today, was an un-hip but very sweet crooner who became a 60s superstar for the older crowd that didn't 'feel' rock and roll. A fixture on 'easy listening' (i.e. non-rock) radio, Williams racked up 18 gold albums and his TV specials were a 60s staple.. Oddly, he's most identified with two songs that were NOT among his many hits. The first is 'Moon River,' which he sang at the Oscars in 1961, when it won Best Song:
His other signature tune is Frankie Valli's über-romantic 1966 'Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You,' also remade as club classics by Boystown Gang (1981) and Pet Shop Boys (1992, in a medley with 'Where The Streets Have No Name' that oddly works well).
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